Rounding
Contents
The Vienna Acoustics Beethoven Baby Grand Reference is a speaker that will appeal to many people. On the one hand, it is a very genial all-rounder, but with a bite. Its dynamics and enthusiastic low end do make it a good combination. But that’s fine. There are plenty of amps that will work. Let’s get down to how these high-quality floorstanders measure up. And who they are intended for.
Measurements
The Vienna Acoustics Beethoven Baby Grand Reference is a speaker that measures up nicely, without question, but does not show a straight response. It has been tuned; deliberately we estimate, given its attention to detail. We see a slight drop in the midrange. Both in a direct measurement and in a measurement at the sitting position.
Off axis or straight does not matter much with this speaker, which is great. The highs naturally drop a little bit, but certainly do not collapse off axis. Distortion is low. The bulk of the speaker sits at 0.3% distortion. The measurements in the low are not reliable enough, but it drops quickly. Let’s estimate that around 60Hz it drops below 1%, which is neat. Vienna Acoustics knows how to hold its own in this class with these measurements.
For whom
The Vienna Acoustics Beethoven Baby Grand Reference – we’re not going to forget that name anytime soon – is a speaker that will be pleasing to many people’s ears. It plays around, complete, dynamic, but not intrusive. It is a serious speaker. A speaker that can handle a lot. And is not afraid of some spectacle. If the rest of the set can handle it of course!
Samples and video
Conclusion
The Austrians are quite capable. That much is clear now. The finish of the Beethoven Baby Grand Reference is sublime. The woodwork, the base, the self-designed and in Austria manufactured units; top quality.The matching with this floorstander is not self-evident. On the Bryston and Pass it goes well, on the NAIM system not really. Especially the bass and the dynamics are too much of a good thing on the British creation. The overall sound and presentation is dynamic, energetic with a fairly relaxed midrange. This will appeal to many people who play all kinds of genres. We could not find a piece that could not be completely reproduced by these Austrians.